STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

FILED 

RODGER L. SCARBERRY, 

Claimant Below, Petitioner 

November 29, 2016 

RORY L. PERRY II, CLERK 

SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS 

OF WEST VIRGINIA 

vs.) No. 16-0057 (BOR Appeal No. 2050700) 

(Claim No. 2014026081) 

SECURITAS SECURITY SERVICES USA, INC., 

Employer, Respondent 

MEMORANDUM DECISION 

Petitioner Rodger L. Scarberry, by Ralph J. Hagy and James D. McQueen Jr., his 

attorneys, appeals the decision of the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Board of Review. 

Securitas Security Services USA, Inc., by Bradley A. Crouser, its attorney, filed a timely 

response. 

This appeal arises from the Board of Review’s Final Order dated November 24, 2015, in 

which the Board affirmed a June 22, 2015, Order of the Workers’ Compensation Office of 

Judges. In its Order, the Office of Judges affirmed the claims administrator’s April 8, 2014, 

decision holding the claim compensable for a fracture of the left tenth rib. The Court has 

carefully reviewed the records, written arguments, and appendices contained in the briefs, and 

the case is mature for consideration. 

This Court has considered the parties’ briefs and the record on appeal. The facts and legal 

arguments are adequately presented, and the decisional process would not be significantly aided 

by oral argument. Upon consideration of the standard of review, the briefs, and the record 

presented, the Court finds no substantial question of law and no prejudicial error. For these 

reasons, a memorandum decision is appropriate under Rule 21 of the Rules of Appellate 

Procedure. 

Mr. Scarberry injured himself when he slipped on ice and fell while performing his duties 

as a security guard. The fall occurred on March 3, 2014, at around 1 a.m. Mr. Scarberry finished 

out his shift, went home, and went to bed. When he woke up, Mr. Scarberry was in severe pain, 

and his wife took him to MedExpress. X-rays revealed a fracture of the left tenth posterior rib. 

He was released with permission to return to work on March 14, 2014, with modified duty. 

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In a hearing before the Office of Judges, Mrs. Scarberry testified that over the next few 

days after the fall, Mr. Scarberry’s pain worsened. On March 7, 2014, she found him lying on the 

floor, unresponsive. Mr. Scarberry’s grandson, Donald Drake, called 911. A 911 transcript 

showed that Mr. Drake indicated Mr. Scarberry had fallen out of bed and landed on the side of 

his injured rib. Upon arriving at the scene, emergency responders found him unresponsive. It was 

noted that Mr. Scarberry last had his prescription pain medication filled on February 24, 2014, at 

150 tablets in the bottle and approximately half were missing. 

Mr. Scarberry was admitted to the intensive care unit and intubated. He was diagnosed 

with sepsis with altered mental status, acute renal failure, respiratory failure, bacterial 

pneumonia, and hyperkalemia. An x-ray taken a week later showed that Mr. Scarberry suffered 

fractures of the sixth and seventh left posterior ribs along with a hemothorax. He remained in the 

hospital through April 9, 2014. 

The claims administrator held the claim compensable for a fracture of the left tenth rib. 

The Office of Judges affirmed the decision on June 22, 2015. The Office of Judges found that a 

preponderance of the evidence indicated that Mr. Scarberry suffered a left tenth rib fracture when 

he was injured at work on March 3, 2014. He then had an intervening fall on March 7, 2014, 

which caused him to develop pneumonia, requiring admission to the intensive care unit. Both 

Mrs. Scarberry and Mr. Drake noted that Mr. Scarberry had fallen, as did the records from the 

hospital. The x-rays taken the day after the work-related injury do not show anything more than a 

fracture of the left tenth rib. The Office of Judges found that the intervening fall led to injuries 

that were not causally connected to the work-related injury. The Board of Review affirmed the 

reasoning and conclusions of the Office of Judges on November 24, 2015. The Board of Review 

also denied Mr. Scarberry’s Motion to Remand. On appeal, Mr. Scarberry’s only argument is 

that the Board of Review erred in not setting out its own findings of fact and conclusions of law 

regarding the Motion to Remand. He asks that the case be remanded and new evidence not 

previously before the Office of Judges be considered. 

We agree with the reasoning and conclusions of the Office of Judges as affirmed by the 

Board of Review. The evidence of record shows that after Mr. Scarberry fell at work he 

sustained a fracture of the left tenth rib. Several days later, Mr. Scarberry fell and sustained more 

injuries, which caused him to develop pneumonia and required hospitalization. The record 

clearly indicates that the x-rays taken before the intervening fall show only the fracture of the left 

tenth rib. All other injuries were sustained after the second fall at home. The second fall was not 

causally connected to the work-related injury. We conclude that the Board of Review did not 

abuse its discretion in denying Ms. Scarberry’s Motion to Remand. The Board of Review 

adopted the facts and conclusions of the Office of Judges in its entirety. The findings of fact and 

conclusions of law are based on reliable evidence in the record. The Order of the Board of 

Review was sufficient and was not clearly wrong. 

For the foregoing reasons, we find that the decision of the Board of Review is not in clear 

violation of any constitutional or statutory provision, nor is it clearly the result of erroneous 

conclusions of law, nor is it based upon a material misstatement or mischaracterization of the 

evidentiary record. Therefore, the decision of the Board of Review is affirmed. 

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Affirmed. 

ISSUED: November 29, 2016 

CONCURRED IN BY: 

Chief Justice Menis E. Ketchum 

Justice Robin J. Davis 

Justice Brent D. Benjamin 

Justice Margaret L. Workman 

Justice Allen H. Loughry II 

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